I don’t have any idea how many museums I have toured over the years but Winterthur is off in a category all by itself.  Nestled in the rolling hills outside of Wilmington, DE, Winterthur is the premier museum of American decorative arts and offers visitors the most unique collection of American home life you will ever see.  The 175 room museum puts on display every imaginable combination of furniture, furnishings and other decorative elements that have been on display all over our country.  I have never met anyone who has been there that wasn’t stunned by what they saw.  If you haven’t been there, it deserves to be moved to the top of your “bucket list”.

One of the most impressive components of Winterthur is its research library.  Put very simply, there’s nothing like it any where else in the country.  It is the place to go for finding out information about what Americans and the various groups who make up our country did in their homes and why.  The breadth of the material there is astonishing.  I have made at least three trips to the library over the span of 15 years for the sole purpose of researching wood floors.  And my time was well spent.

What were the products used to finish old floors?  What maintenance products were manufacturers producing to protect and beautify the surfaces?  What problems did homeowners have to deal with?  When did wood go from being a utilitarian surface to a highly decorative one?  How did a homeowner end up with a walnut and cherry inlay floor around a field of quartersawn white oak in stunning parquet pattern?  You will find the answers buried in stacks of books, magazines, brochures, trade publications and just about everything that has been written on the subject.

One of the things I like best about Winterthur and their library is that it can provide a lot of answers to questions about how our old homes were built and maintained.  This gets to be a pretty testy area with those focused on restoring old homes and buildings.  Experience has taught me that many who write on a variety of these subjects sometimes take some creative license with their interpretations.  You also find out that some manufacturers claims about their products often falls short of their historic claims.  Whether you are knee deep in restoration or just looking for a unique and memorable experience, Winterthur is well worth the time and effort.  For more information, visit their website – http://www.winterthur.org/ and plan your trip.

visit www.annetaintor.com for more opinionated women

Most homeowners with hardwood floors eventually get to the point where the original luster of their refinished floors begins to dull down.  This is normal, especially when small children, pets and an active social schedule get involved.  A few coatings manufacturers provide cleaning products to remove dirt and grime but these cleaners will not address a dull look acquired from constant use.  Even after the floors have been thoroughly cleaned, they still look dull.  You really want to be careful about your next choice.

The most natural course of action is to go to your local hardware, building supply store or even the internet to look for options.  Without a doubt, the products that get the most attention are acrylic waxes.  They are easy to apply (usually mixed with water and applied with a sponge mop), cheap, look good and offer very fast turn around times.  However, what most homeowners don’t realize is that they are no longer trying to maintain a floor finish; they now have to maintain a maintenance product and folks that is a whole new ballgame.

Contrary to what the label may say, acrylic products do not wear well and much of their maintenance involves applying more of the same.  And that is where it becomes a problem because most of these manufacturers do not make a product to get the acrylic products off the floor.  Making matters worse is the fact that they usually turn an ugly grey as the accumulation increases.  Most people quickly realize that maintaining a maintenance product is not as easy as they thought it would be and certainly didn’t make the wood floor more attractive.

If you insist on using these products, let me give you this advice – any manufacturer you select absolutely and positively must make a product that will safely remove the acrylics from the surface. Period; end of story.  No excuses accepted!  If the acrylic products cannot be removed, you lose the option of recoating the floor and that is not acceptable.  You have to be diligent about this because there is a lot at risk here and you don’t want to be giving up many of your options.

Key components of my recoating team.

I am not against people using acrylic products on their wood floors.  I just don’t like the negative consequences and how they can create a much more expensive problem than they solve.  If you have wood floors and notice they have lost their luster, recoating is probably going to be a much better option to look at that than some maintenance system.  The coatings available today are much more durable and easily maintained than any we have ever had.  There is stronger product support and homeowners are much more likely to adapt to these products than something that only offers a fleeting resolution to their problem.  So, if you want to use acrylic products to maintain your hardwood floors, be careful what you wish for!  You may be going down a dead end road.

Kathy Cooper (Birds of a Feather)

Few surfaces present more of a design opportunity than wood floors. They make a perfect backdrop to add color, texture and design to a background rich in its own color and character. Many have taken advantage of this opportunity and produced stunning interiors.

I think everyone is accustomed to seeing area rugs but there is another item that has been off our radar for some time that is making a comeback – floorcloths. For those not familiar with floorcloths, let me be the first to tell you they have a rich history and for centuries they were used to decorate the floors from royalty to the common man. Part of what fueled their popularity was the availability of the products used to make them – canvas and paint or coatings.

They were able to withstand the punishment of the footwear of the day and proved to be economical to produce. In the US, floorcloths were popular enough to grace the entrance hall of Thomas Jefferson’s Montpelier. It was painted green in an effort to bring the exterior into the interior and replicate the look of grass.

I have always been attracted to floorcloths and I am extremely pleased by what I see when I look online for sources. When you combine the skills level of the artisans and the quality of the products available today to make them, you not only see why they are excellent décor, you also see why they are an excellent investment. They are much more durable, easily cleaned and maintained than in the past and the array of designs is limitless.

Lisa Curry Mair (Mariner’s Compass)

I have spent a little time looking for artists who offer some well designed and well made floorcloths and would like you to have their contact information. The most impressive are listed below and all but one have websites. I encourage you to visit their sites, check out their galleries and see what they offer. For those of you with talent and the motivation, you will find a couple that will help you design and create your own floorcloth.

When it comes to home décor, I think it goes without saying that wood floors offer homeowners the most complete and versatile palette of all flooring materials. Whether it is Oriental rugs, woven rugs or an attractive floorcloth; they enhance the look and value of your floors and your home. Used and maintained properly, floorcloths also provide additional protection for your prized wood floors. Give them a look. It is time well spent.

Lisa Curry Mair
Canvasworks
326 Henry Gould Rd.
Perkinsville, VT 05151
802-263-5410
www.canvasworksfloorcloths.com
lisa@canvasworksfloorcloths.com

Susan Mugford
Historic Design
3120 Towne Hill Rd.
East Montpelier, VT 05651
802-229-0268
historicdesign@aol.com

Kathy Cooper
115 Cascade Ave.
Winston Salem, NC 27127
336-245-3130
www.kathyooperfloorcloths.com
floorcloths@hotmail.com

Gracewood Design
6107 NE 32nd Pl.
Portland, OR 97211
503-229-0268
info@gracewooddesign.com

www.gracewooddesign.com

Lack of protection allows water staining.

The key is not to wait too long. In the photo to the right, the homeowner has waited until the wood has darkened from repeated exposures to water. As a general rule, if the floor has gotten lighter from wear, you should be good for a recoat. If it has gotten darker, you may need to look at a total sanding and finishing. So pay attention to the appearance of the wood to avoid being forced to sand it to get the look you want.

I don’t recommend “screening” a floor prior to recoating as this often leads to problems. I rely on safe, non toxic cleaners and bonding agents to get the best results. I make two applications of waterborne polyurethane to the prepared surface. Fast-drying and durable, waterborne polyurethanes are head and shoulders better than any products on the market. Recoating will not remove deep gouges and indentations but they will usually blend in better. If there is excessive discoloration from water damage and UV fading around area rugs, these may be visible after the new coatings have been applied.

Before

After

The ability to refurbish and improve the appearance and durability of an older floor without sanding it and doing this around a busy lifestyle and active family is the strength of recoating. The process I use is completely dustless, the chemicals and finishes I use don’t create a hazardous environment and homeowners usually have good use of the rooms when the recoating is taking place. I will phase the work so that homeowners aren’t forced out of their homes or have to endure major inconveniences.

These two photos show an old pine floor in a bungalow. Sanding wasn’t an option as there wasn’t enough wood left due to previous refinishing. Once recoating was completed, the rich colors return and the wood has enough finish on it to outlive the current owners. Without any sanding these floors have recaptured their beauty and are protected for years to come. This is an excellent example of the utility and value of recoating. Don’t overlook this option next time you look at your tired, worn floors.

I am an old house junkie.  Working on older homes has always been far more enjoyable than tackling something that is just coming out of the ground and usually surrounded by a lake of red mud.  Be honest with yourself and you will probably realize that there is an old house junkie lurking around in you as well.  Would you rather work in a nice, tree lined neighborhood where people are living and walking their dogs or would you want to work on streets lined with pick up trucks jockeying for the next open spot on a muddy lot that is barren of trees and littered with every type of construction material imaginable?  It doesn’t take much creativity to see that the former trumps the latter in spades.  So any time I see a group that wants to preserve, protect and promote these old neighborhoods and buildings, they get my support.

I am a proud card carrying member of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation (GTHP) and I think anyone who owns a house built before 1950 should be too.  These are the people that see the value and wisdom in keeping our past intact when every developer east or west of the Nile would love to eradicate the old and put up another Tower of Babel.  The only good old historic structure they want to see is a pile of bricks and rubble being hauled off to put up another nondescript repetitious symbol.  I can look at the Atlanta downtown skyline and not see a single structure that has the personality or character of any five story brick and limestone apartment building from the 1920’s.  Architecture has its limits and in my opinion, that limit usually stops around the 10th floor of most buildings.

This past weekend, I had a chance to spend some quality time around members of GTHP over in Madison, Ga. We did a clean up on an old piece of property that the Trust is trying to sell.  A fellow named Frank and I filled up at least four 20 gallon trash cans with empty beer and vodka bottles from a transient resident who was not doing his liver any favors.  Others moved piles of old clothing, vines wrapping around the exterior, hauled off rotting timber and boarded doors and windows.  A lot of people would not see the point and would consider the work hopeless.  Maybe they don’t know about Inman Park, Cabbagetown, Kirkwood, Whittier Mill or any number of old neighborhoods that had fallen on hard times only to rebound and present many with a unique and rich living opportunity.  A lot of people see the same value in inner city living today as those who did decades ago.

I am not against new construction or development but I do draw the line when someone puts a price tag on our history and whistles all the way to the bank.  Some things are really worth fighting for and our history, heritage and old houses fall into that category.  Hopefully, the work that was done in Madison this weekend will result in another old house junkie finding a place to roost.  And if they do, you will probably see them out clearing and cleaning an old dump for the Trust somewhere in Georgia.  Don’t miss out on all the fun.  Go to their website and find out how you can help make sure our history stays part of our future – www.georgiatrust.org.